The content of the concept of «spiritual and moral values» in the humanitarian knowledge of Germany

Abstract

Introduction. Spiritual and moral values play an essential role in the formation of the younger person's personality. Therefore, their scientific development occupies an important place in the theory of pedagogy and implies the need for special research in the field of philosophy, axiology and a number of other sciences. The purpose of the article is to generalize the views of leading German scientists of the XIX-XX centuries who dealt with the problem of axiology, including in relation to pedagogy. Materials and methods. The leading research methods are the analysis of scientific literature, mainly in German, comparative and historical methods, and the axiological approach, which allowed us to identify valuable content in the theoretical works of German authors. Results. German axiology occupies a special place in the development of the doctrine of social and pedagogical values. It was German scientists who first developed the main approaches to the doctrine of values, which were then developed by axiologists of a number of other countries. The views of the leading philosophers-axiologists of Germany of the XIX-XX centuries are presented. Immanuel Kant was the first to turn to the study of the concept of "value". Rudolf-Hermann Lotze introduced the concept of "value" into science as an aesthetic and ethical category. The founders of the Baden School of Philosophy Wilhelm Windelband and Heinrich Rickert gave the first scientifically grounded interpretation of such cardinal concepts of axiology as evaluation, value, classification and hierarchy of values. Engelbert Gutwanger singled out such a feature in the concept of value as its orientation for the good or, conversely, against man and society. Fritz-Joachim von Rintelen divided values into personal and non-personal, and the personal sphere, in his opinion, rose above the non-personal; in other words, the interests of the individual were higher than the interests of society. Theodor Steinbuchel believed that moral values obliged and bound a person, and were perceived by him as a duty to society. The doctrine of values was further developed in the pedagogy of culture, represented by the names of Edward Spranger, Theodor Litt and Georg Michael Kershensteiner, who considered values in inseparable connection with education and culture. Conclusions. The scientific novelty of the study consists in a meaningful analysis of the views of a number of German scientists and philosophers. Currently, these views are actively used by the Russian theory of pedagogy as one of the methodological foundations. We put the following meaning into the concept of spiritual and moral values: these are socially approved and transmitted from generation to generation samples of culture and moral norms, personally significant, and regulating the behavior of a person, imprinted in the moral appearance of a person, in cultural patterns of life and intergenerational interaction, in educational relations, in pedagogical theories and methods of pedagogical activity and behavior. The main conclusion is that in order for the value orientations to be viable, and to be accepted by educators and students, it′s necessary that they correspond to the current life values of the younger generation and the progressive development of society as a whole.